Claire you've done the right thing coming here. There are various ways to wash and dry your dreads. Some people like to use baking soda to clean their hair, some people use soaps and some use special shampoos eg. Dr bronners. I would recommend you to go to dreadlockshampoo.com and buy some soaps or shampoos, that'd be the best thing you can do. They're 100% organic not overpriced and handmade. Me personally when I dry my hair I use a towel and hang it around my hair (without vigorously wiping my head with it because it is known to help loosen dreads) in order to soak up all the moisture. Hope I helped but maybe the site's pros can help you some moee

Desert nomads in the Sahara? Sadhus in India? Indigenous Australians in Western Australia in the bush? Tribes in the amazon? The transition from a materialist society to the forest would be a hard one for me I reckon

Hmm well to be honest it's more of an acceptance thing, you'll realise yourself. But if it's really a pain ( it is for me sometimes) wear a tam or a comfy loose beanie to bed that way it compresses your dreads and prevents you caring about the frizzies simultaneously. I guess I didnt really help but good luck anyway!

Lol there is tonnes of reading on te history of dreads, there are videos and documentaries on sadhus( Indian dreadlock holy men) Rastafarians and aN African tribe that dread their hair and dye them red ( I have a bad memory so I can't remember what they're called) if you look around in this forum there's plenty of history around

Good to hear! I'm not trying to advertise I'm just trying to inform you that dreadlockshampoo.com could probz help u out with the whole sensitivity thing. Have fun in Indonesia I'm below you in Australia! I hear Bali is the place to be!!!

Wow that's a tough decision hey, I would probably just tie them up, since my dreads are short I used a really large headband, dreads aren't meant to be manicured in my opinion and their freedom stopped so I wouldn't worry about loose hairs or anything, that's your hair doing its own thang, don't gel them or wax them that is extremely dangerous and can result to dread rot and buildup. Hope I helped